1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structural assembly designed to remove carpet from a floor or like surface wherein the carpet is of the type adhered or affixed directly to the floor surface by adhesive or like means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In large industrial and commercial complexes, where carpet is used as the primary floor covering over generally very large floor areas, it is common practice to adhere or affix the undersurface of the carpet directly to the exposed surface of the floor being covered. This is usually done by glue, adhesive or like material distributed substantially over the entire surface to be covered. This type of installation is considered necessary in high traffic areas.
While the above type installation is effective for maintaining carpet for long periods of time, it has been realized that the removal of this directly adhered carpet from the flooring surface, once it is worn or needs replacement, is extremely difficult. The problem in removing such adhered carpet comes from separating the directly adhered undersurface of the carpet from the flooring. Prior art attempts to accomplish such removal are still extremely time-consuming and manually very difficult. Accordingly, problems arise in finding laborers willing to perform such difficult tasks. Therefore, it is readily seen that problems existing in the removal of directly adhered carpet from a flooring surface is expensive, time-consuming, extremely difficult and presents a serious problem in the industry.
In order to overcome such problems, prior art devices have been developed wherein machines serve to cut or chip away at the point of contact between the carpet and the flooring. Such prior art machines do not supply direct force to the carpet in and of themselves but attempt to weaken the bond between the undersurface of the carpet and the flooring. In utilizing such existing and commercially available machines, extreme manual exertion is still required in providing force for the actual removal. Therefore, while this type of machine is certainly operable, its use does not overcome many disadvantages associated with the removal of such carpet as set forth above.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for a device which will cause the efficient and relatively easy removal or stripping of such carpet from floor surfaces to which they are directly adhered. Ideally, such an assembly should require a minimal amount of additional workers and preferably carpet portions can be stripped from flooring surfaces by a single operator in a working period which is much less than applying prior art methods of removal.